Q. Do the dead hear the address of the living?

A. In Sahih Bukhari: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him
peace) ordered that the bodies of the idolaters slain on the day
of Badr be thrown into a well whose interior was encased with
stones, then he approached the well and began addressing the
unbelievers by their names and fathers' names, saying: "O
So-and-so son of So-and-so, and So-and-so son of So-and-so: it
would have been easier if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger.
We have found what our Lord promised to be true; have you found
what your Lord promised to be true?" To which `Umar said:
"O Messenger of Allah, why speak to lifeless bodies?"
And he replied: "By Him in whose hand is the soul of
Muhammad, you do not hear my words better than they do." [In
Muslim: "By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, you
do not hear my words better than they do, only they are unable to
answer."]